Unintended Consequences: Drug Policies Fuel the HIV Epidemic in Russia and Ukraine

Unintended Consequences: Drug Policies Fuel the HIV Epidemic in Russia and Ukraine, a report from the International Harm Reduction Development Program (IHRD), argues that strict UN drug control treaties directly undermine HIV prevention efforts by discouraging countries from implementing effective, realistic, and compassionate public health measures. The report was presented prior to the opening of a major UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) conference in Vienna. It calls for participants to amend UN drug policies and national drug and HIV laws to protect public health and human rights.

Unintended Consequences focuses primarily on Russia and Ukraine, countries with two of the world's fastest-growing HIV epidemics. According to the report, over the past several years both nations have introduced harsh antidrug measures at the expense of HIV prevention programs, in an attempt to comply with outdated UN drug conventions. Such strategies ignore the health consequences of widespread injection drug use, the main route of HIV infection in Russia, Ukraine, and other countries in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.

The publication is available in PDF form in both English and Russian.